Proposal on young foreign students slammed

A proposal for the relaxation of guardianship rules to allow primary-school-aged foreign students to study here without their parents or guardian has been slammed as "exploitation of young children for commercial gain" by education union NZEI Te Riu Roa.

"I think most people would find the idea of young children, particularly primary-aged students, being dropped in a different country and culture, and being separated from their parents for weeks at a time, pretty difficult to comprehend," says president Frances Nelson.

The Ministry of Education is behind a drive to review the pastoral care code for international students, and relaxing the rules that required those aged 13 and under to live with a parent or legal guardian while studying here.

It is seeking feedback from industry providers and professional bodies, who have until Monday to respond.

Ms Nelson says the idea for relaxing the policy reflects the growing financial dependence schools had on international students. "I know many schools are struggling with their operational funding and need to supplement their income but I find it disturbing that schools would be tempted to use vulnerable students to balance their budgets," she said.

International students paid $600,000 in fees last year, and the national economic benefit in foreign exchange, according to the Ministry of Education, was $2.36 billion.

Family lobby group Family First is calling for the Government to reject the proposal, and instead provide the funding to schools. "The welfare of children is playing second fiddle to the financial needs of cash-strapped schools who see foreign students as a cash cow," said the group's national director, Bob McCoskrie.

When contacted by the Herald yesterday, Education New Zealand, which markets NZ as a study destination overseas, would not say if it would market primary schools to foreign students if the guardianship rules were relaxed.